Problem: Vanessa earns a base salary of $400.00 every week with an additional 8% commission on everything she sells. If Vanessa sold $550.00 worth of items last week, what was her total salary?
Explanation: First, find the amount of commission made by using the following formula: commission rate $\times$ total sales $=$ amount of commission made Since the commission rate is a percentage, we have to convert it into a decimal first. Percent means "out of one hundred," so $8\%$ is equivalent to $\frac{8}{100}$ which is also equal to $8 \div 100$ $8 \div 100 = 0.08$ Now you have all the information you need to find the amount of commission made: $0.08$ $\times$ $$550.00$ $=$ $$44.00$ We can find the total salary for Vanessa by adding the amount of commission made to her base salary. amount of commission made $+$ base salary $=$ total salary $$44.00$ $+$ $$400.00$ $=$ $$444.00$ The total salary Vanessa made last week was $$444.00$.